A Palo Alto High School sports fan would have to be living under a rock not to know about the state championship titles that the varsity volleyball and football teams brought home this fall.
Fans watched the CIF Division I girls’ volleyball team take on Long Beach Poly in San Jose and two weeks later watched the 73rd-ranked football team take on Corona Centennial High School in the Division I State Bowl to finish as the 13th-ranked team in the country. The athletic success of the two teams has captivated the attention of Palo Alto and pulled the community closer together in joyous celebration of the teams’ victories. The city of Palo Alto will hold a parade this Saturday to honor the teams.
The athletic excitement brought together both die-hard sports fans and new converts to the world of Paly sports. Even though I personally know athletes on both championship teams, I consider myself a new Viking sports fan. Before this season, I wasn’t eager to know the outcome of the games or tournaments, but this year it was the success of both teams that got me hooked.
Admittedly, I was surprised at the amount of excitement and pride the team’s victories created in the town. Although I was perplexed by the commotion at first, it didn’t take me long to join in the excitement. I soon found out how important and influential sports teams are to a community. I don’t think I would have ever understood their impact if I hadn’t attended that first game.
The first Paly football game I attended in my four years here was the 2010 team’s 11th victory against Archbishop Mitty in the first round of the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs. The Vikings won, 13-10, with a last-second touchdown in the final moments of a very suspenseful game. I became an instant fan.
The excitement I felt while cheering on my Econ classmates led me to realize what sets high school sports apart from those at any other level. High school sports teams are personal; the members of the winning volleyball and football teams are my classmates, my friends. High school is a community where athletes are supported by a class of friends instead of strangers.
It was not until I experienced the atmosphere of the game that I found how much the football team’s, and by extension, the volleyball team’s success meant to me. Their accomplishments gave me something to look forward to and for me to root for. As a fellow student, I wanted success for the individuals I knew at school who had become one unit with their teammates on the field or on the court.
On a community level, it was impossible not to notice and feel the excitement of the teachers and students alike as the volleyball team advanced to its CCS final against Menlo Atherton High School and soon through each consecutive round of the state tournament. With the success of the volleyball team, Paly and the Palo Alto community rallied behind the football team in its quest for a state championship. Shirts were made to commemorate what was then an undefeated 10-0 season for the football team that would come to never lose a game. Dedicated students in Paly colors and parents in drenched raincoats alike cheered on the team more than 300 miles from home.
Come Saturday, I’ll be there in the crowd with the rest of the community cheering on our state champions at the parade downtown. The experience I had this fall season excites me for the upcoming soccer, basketball and wrestling seasons starting up this week. I am still a rookie spectator, but this may be the year I earn my stripes as a die-hard Paly sports fan.